Rise of the Shadow Lord
by WarlockKingAbraxas
Summary: It's the year 2032 and VRMMOs have become the world's most popular form of entertainment. With a NerveGear in every house, tournaments and dungeon crawls able to be streamed to any TV, and top-tier raiders becoming the go to celebrity A-listers - life is the best it's ever been for gamers. However, as is the tragic fate of any golden age, disaster sits just beyond the horizon.
1. Prolouge

Asher brushed the fringe of black hair from his amber eyes as he rushed back to the Sith Temple. Every fiber of his being wanted to believe that what he had just learned about The Old Republic Online hadn't been true, that it couldn't have been. But he was smarter than that. No amount of pleading or false hope that the situation was all an elaborate prank could save them.

He checked his comm again, desperately trying to call either of his friends, but neither line would connect. He just hoped that they were both already talking to someone else, maybe each other? The alternative would have been too much to bare.


	2. Chapter 1: A Bond Broken

Asher was hunched over his desk, crammed between mountains of moving boxes, trying to distract himself from the fact that his life was crumbling around him. It all started when BioHazard announced their new VRMMO The Old Republic Online. The game wasn't the first full dive VRMMO to be released, far from it, but it would be the first that put a large focus on open world PvP. Afterall, the large scale galactic conquest had been what drew him to the title in the first place. The fact that it would be a Star Wars game only heightened his excitement. Knowing his hype would make the seconds tick by at half speed Asher decided he would busy himself with sketching out armor designs for his online persona; Draconis.

Not that he'd ever admit it to anyone out loud but Draconis had become a sort of idle to Asher, the goal that propelled him forward. Draconis was what Asher felt he never could be; a powerful warlock who had not just the will, but also the means to protect what he cared about. To achieve anything. It was Draconis who had achieved superstardom, something Asher felt would have been impossible without the persona. The most recent advantage Draconis had over Asher was the power to keep his kingdom from crumbling – a struggle the seventeen year old knew he was on the verge of losing. So, Asher did the only thing he felt he could do; he channeled his emotions into designing the coolest looking gear he could to empower his better self.

Just as Asher finished the shading on a particularly nasty looking shoulder-spike his phone chirped to life. He didn't have to dig around his pocket long before he was met with the sight of his lock screen, a full color drawing of his guild-mates' characters, and a new message from a group chat.

 **Jake:** _Dudes, twenty mins till launch_

 **Tristan:** _Just like a minute ago when it was sixteen_

 **Tristan:** _And a minute from now it'll be fourteen, we get it_

Asher thought about responding to them, try getting them to play nice, but at that point it would be a wasted effort. Jake and Tristan had been bickering ever since they had all met in sixth grade, the fact that they still hadn't stopped five years later meant they never would. Unluckily for the teen his respite came in the form of a knock at his door.

"Ash?" Tracy, his best friend and top officer, called from the other side.

Asher sighed heavily, "One sec!" He felt several pops in his back as he stood up, stretching a bit with what little room there was in his soon-to-be-former suite. All of his belongings, most of which consisted of expensive Nightsong Online merch and gaming gear, were packed away in large bins and moving boxes.

Tracy's foot was in the door as soon as it cracked open. When she stepped inside Asher was pulling a chair that had yet to be packed away over to his desk. She peered around the room, a glimmer of tainted nostalgia in her jade eyes, and memories of when the pair first signed on to be Whiteout Entertainment's newest sponsored Divers rushed back to her. "You're really doing this then?

They both already knew the answer to that, but she felt she had to ask anyway. Just as he felt the need to answer. It was a game they had been playing for months, one that was impossible to win and would be devastating to lose. Still, when he slid the chair over to her she sat in it. They'd have their battle. One last time.

"I am. It's not too late to get a copy yourself, you know. You don't re-sign with Whiteout for two more days and BioHazard is looking for big names."

"I have no interest in a game that'll be dead a year into launch."

"How would you even know if you've never even tried the game?"

"Because everyone is saying so."

"When has that ever stopped you from doing anything?"

"I'm serious, Ash–"

"So am I, we're partners remember?"

"Of course we are but–"

"Then come on! Tristan and Jake are already coming, it can be the OG crew again."

"I can't just–"

"Can't what? Have fun? Go back to–"

"I can't risk my future on a whim!" She snapped, jumping out of her seat and staring him right in his suddenly frigid blue eyes. Silence reigned as Tracy was lost in the frozen, unshakable resolve she had seen Asher level on every obstacle in his path since childhood. Eyes she never once thought would be laid on her. "We're not kids anymore…" She slumped back into the purple gaming chair.

There was a long pause before Asher broke the silence, "You don't think I know that, Trace?" When she said nothing he continued, "I'm just sick of everyone treating it like its work now. There's no more adventure. It's just find, kill, repeat. I was hoping this would change that."

Tracy reached out for his hand and he didn't hesitate to lend it to her. "I know. Really I do." Their grips tightened, "Remember when Sister Nora first told us the house was being given thirteen NerveGear?"

"The perfect number." Asher smiled, "We took our first steps into Ebonvale." If he closed his eyes he could still imagine that inicial experience. A canopy of purple leaves blotting out the sun, thick perfectly green grass rolled across dozens of hills and a gentle breeze that carried the scent of wildberries.

"Hooked us instantly. Promised each other we'd build a castle on the tallest of the Shrouded Mountains – and we did. Lunamist Keep. It's our home, Ash." But when Tracy went to squeeze his hand again, she found it slowly being pulled from her grasp.

"It used to be." Their illusion slowly crumbled around them. "Now its a place where we crunch numbers and race people for Server Firsts rather than enjoying the experience."

"We grew up."

"No, growing up was realizing our parents didn't want us." Asher spun his chair back towards his desk. "All we did was let the spark die."

Tracy gripped the chair's arms so tightly she nearly ripped the padding, "The game will _fail_ Asher. You'll be out of a job. On the street, exactly what you swore you'd never let yourself become."

"Last I checked they've already sold three million copies. That's nearly double the Nightsong launch." Asher picked his pencil back up and began to continue his shading work.

"Ya, because its launching at $30! I mean seriously, what game launches that low?"

Asher snorted, "They want to compete with Nightsong. That's all."

"So that's it? You're just gonna take our two best tanks and go? You, our best DPS, our guild leader," Tracy launched from her seat, just barely able to restrain herself from lunging at him, "the mighty Mystic Knight Commander! There's a new raid coming out next week and without you guys we can kiss Server First goodbye! Is that who Draconis is? A traitor!?"

" _ **That's enough!**_ " Asher slamed his fist onto his desk and shot to his feet as well.

Tracy flinched, tripping backwards over the chair she had been given. Asher took a deep breath, running a hand through his long black hair, before he turned his head towards her once more.

"I think you should go."

Tracy nodded, trying her hardest to keep tears from spilling as her best friend dismissed her. "Have fun pissing away our reputation."

Asher traced his finger over the newest armor design, "And you have fun being GM."

She didn't respond and left without another sound. Asher stood for a few minutes, gazing at his newest creation in silence and contemplating his next move. He couldn't convince Tacy to join him but he also couldn't imagine exploring a new world without his partner. A choice was set before him, possibly the most difficult one of his life. However, when the alarm he had set for thirty seconds before launch began to go off, he didn't hesitate. He turned on his heel, laid down on his bed, pulled the NerveGear over his head, and slowly the world around him faded away.

When Asher came to he was standing in space. The stars were so all encompassing that it took him nearly a minute to see the login screen set before him. As quickly as he could he entered his login info and was brought to character customization. Two symbols, each as large as his computer monitor back home, hovered before him; a blue Republic crest on his right and the red Imperial sigil on his left.

"Please select your faction." A neutral, robotic voice commanded him.

Before they started playing he and his friends had already decided what faction they would be a part of, that way the three wouldn't be opposing each other. So with a wave of his left hand the decision was made; they would be champions of the Sith Empire. A wheel then appeared before him with a wide variety of alien races.

"Select your race." A new voice prompted him, this a curt one male with an Imperial accent.

Again Asher's job was easy as he'd already decided what race he'd be playing, after all there was only one race that Draconis could be; a Sith Pureblood. While there was originally a lock hovering over the race it was immediately unlocked with a popup reading 'BETA REWARD GRANTED'. He was a bit sad, however, to discover the character creation was very limited. He was able to choose his eye color, skin tone and hair but that was it – not a face or body slider to be seen.

He set his skin color to the deepest red possible, his eyes to the molten orange-gold of the dark side, and choose long, onyx hair that reached midway down his back before moving on. The next screen he was taken to was another wheel, this time a short list of classes. While there were quite a few of these they were more starter kits than anything else – The Old Republic Online had boasted from early on that the skill system was completely open.

Another perk of being in the beta was being able to play as a force user. Asher scrolled all the way over to the three Imperial force user starter kits; Sith Warrior, Sith Seeker and Sith Adept. Warrior and Seeker started the player out with a shield and stealth generator respectively while Adept got an extra starting Force ability. As he had always played casters Asher waved his hand over Adept.

The last screen was his character sheet requiring him to allocate his skill points. Luckily for him he'd memorised the skill trees while in beta so he could spend as little time with this as possible. He grabbed up the Telekinesis I and Sith Lightning I abilities, put his one resource point in Force Pool, and finally was met with a confirm button. Asher slashed his hand through it without a second thought, anxious to start the game. Once more the world around him began to dissolve in white light and he was off on a brand new adventure.


End file.
